An alleged child molester who had been asleep for a year on the day he was arrested due to a bizarre medical syndrome woke up in hospital and was immediately taken to prison.
Ahmad Ali (28) was arrested in July 2021 at Fiumicino Airport near Rome, Italy, after sexually assaulting a minor.
The only time he spoke after his arrest was to immediately protest his innocence, but after that he stopped eating and drinking and soon fell asleep, unresponsive to sound or movement and being fed by IV.
The attacker was taken on a stretcher to a video conference room in Rome’s Regina Coeli prison for each phase of his criminal trial, but he never woke up or answered a question.
The attacker was taken on a stretcher to a video conference room at Rome’s Regina Coeli prison for each phase of his criminal trial (Photo, file image).
Judges ruled that Ali, originally from Pakistan, could appear in court despite his apparent unconsciousness as they believed he was lying despite being transported between prison and hospital.
Twice, medical experts testified in court and claimed that the defendant had undergone a “simulation attributable to Ganser syndrome,” a rare and poorly understood condition often referred to as nonsense syndrome.
But he never woke up during his numerous hearings, which his lawyer claimed he was unable to attend.
Suddenly, on December 9, Ali woke up in the hospital after a year of sleep and was immediately taken to prison.
His lawyer, Donato Vertone, told Repubblica: “Ahmed woke up and it seems like a miracle to me.”
“Thanks to Cardarelli’s doctors in Naples. Don’t ask me how they did it, all I know is that yesterday he was still talking and walking, but twenty days ago, in the condition I saw him in, I thought he was going to die.”
Ali says he barely remembers his year of sleep, with a blank head of his arrest at Fiumicino Airport and a few glimpses of his time at Rome’s Pertini Hospital before finally waking up in Naples with a needle in his arm and groin.
Ahmad Ali (28) was arrested in July 2021 at Fiumicino Airport near Rome (pictured), Italy, after sexually assaulting a minor
Ganser syndrome, also known as “prison psychosis” because inmates are usually afflicted with it in order to obtain mercy from judges and prosecutors, is a controversial condition whose legitimacy has been questioned.
Sufferers seem to be faking physical or mental illness when they can benefit, but then they may experience real symptoms.
The syndrome is a response to extreme stress and common symptoms include hallucinations, confusion, memory loss and paralysis.
Neuroscientists at University College London investigated Ali’s case after it was brought to the attention of the Italian legal organization Antigone.
Susanna Marietti, the group’s national coordinator, said: “I met young Ahmed on June 1 last year in the clinical center of Regina Coeli prison, he had been sleeping for several months and was in this condition.
“I bent over his face, I shouted at him and he didn’t move a bit, he was in a deep sleep.
“I spoke to the cellmate and he told me that he never woke up during the day or night and never moved.”
UCL then advised a psychologist, psychiatrist and physical therapist to work together on Ali for his motor rehabilitation and he woke up soon after.
Attorney Vertone said: “I know they will continue to investigate his case.
“Now I’m trying to get him back in touch with his family in Pakistan, because he hasn’t heard anything from them in over a year.”
The next hearing will now take place in January, when Ali will hopefully be able to speak in court for the first time.
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Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
